hi all,

NetBSD/pmax has switched over to the new UVM virtual memory system.
UVM is a complete rewrite of the NetBSD virtual memory system, and has
proven to be a much better performer than the Mach VM system.  UVM
also supports advanced features such as page loanout, and is being
used in the development of a unified buffer and page cache for NetBSD.

Thanks to Chuck Cranor, for writing UVM, and giving very useful advice
on cleaning up the mips pmap code to work with UVM; and to Michael
Hitch for providing and testing those patches. (thanks also to
Ignatios Souvatzis, from whom I cribbed the source-update instructions.)


This change was done to NetBSD-current, the public developer version
of NetBSD. The first formal release of NetBSD/pmax to have UVM will be
1.4.

Upgrade instructions to users of NetBSD/pmax-current:

You'll need to re-configure and recompile your kernel, and to
recompile at least libkvm and programs using libkvm (e.g. ps, systat).
If you run UVM kernels with non-UVM aware programs, some programs
requesting information from the kernel won't work (while the system as
a whole remains usable.)

Please direct any questions about UVM to tech-kern@netbsd.org. 
If you have questions specific to UVM on pmax (or other mips) machines,
please send them to port-mips@netbsd.org.

The mips UVM support is limited to sys/arch/mips/, and I hope other
mips-based netbsd ports will move over to UVM just as soon as the
relevant portmasters confirm it's OK to do so.